Category: List Building

Even with all the new social media sites, text marketing, video marketing, blog marketing and every other kind of marketing, email marketing is still one of the best ways to communicate and connect with your prospects, subscribers and customers.

But why is it that the emails sent by retailers and service businesses seem to be the same ole’ broadcast with a drab layout and too much information.

This hasn’t changed much since the late 1990’s. In most cases all you will see is sell, sell, sell, sell – blah, blah, blah… It’s a tragedy that I see all the time. From big corporations to the smallest of small businesses, the list is long.

Now you can avoid this if you are going to build your subscriber and customer list by using email marketing.

When it comes to Email Marketing Strategies for small business, here is one you might consider:

With this strategy the idea is to Captivate the Subscriber(who may also be a customer) so he or she really looks forward to receiving your emails. Below are three different examples of how you can do this.

1. Write a Story Board just like you would if you were creating a mini-series for Television. Not that you have to be a screenwriter, but you need to tell the story over a period of time, breaking it down into little gems and nuggets to keep the subscriber’s attention.

2. Write Often and Daily if possible. The more often you write the better you’ll get at it. This method basically goes like this: write an email every day and insert it into your follow- up sequence. The goal is to eventually have an email arrive in your prospect’s or customer’s inbox every day. With this method you effectively polarize the reader, capture their attention and if your content is interesting, they will stay subscribed and purchase your products, services or information.

3. Write in Blocks as this creates continuity. So if you are going to write about indoor organic gardening, then write a series of 10 to 20 messages that covers the topic from A to Z or tells the story. Simply create an outline about the topic and then translate this outline into the individual emails. This method works well with number two from above and you might find that your blocks will fit with certain emails, if they are within the same niche or business category.

No matter what email strategy you use(mine, your own or some other marketer’s), I recommend that you utilize an email auto-responder versus your own email program like Outlook or Gmail. There are lots of reasons for this, but primarily the email software allows you to keep your database up to date, track and sequence your messages and provide a vehicle for permission based marketing.

With all this said I hope you take your email marketing seriously and develop relationships with your prospects, subscribers and customers.

Previously I wrote about Lead Generation and three ways that you generate leads for your small business. Today I want to cover the lead capture page and also a simple way that you can connect with a searcher who is more than just a looker.

If you are having a tough time bringing in new leads and prospects, these two options may be just the ticket for you to capture more than your fair share of leads through the web. Plus if you do use traditional methods like direct mail or other offline marketing, then you might be able to increase responses and the actions of those who come across your path.

But before I go into detail here, know this:

Not every searcher who comes to your website or lead capture page will be interested in what you have to offer. The fact is only a certain percentage of people will be open and decide to come into your world, so once the searcher becomes a lead and is captured – it is your job to connect and close the sale.

Lead Capture can be a web form on the front page of your website and then have links or it can be a call to action like a Call Now button with a phone number in it. The objective here is simple – you need to capture leads and want to make it easy for the searcher/visitor to opt-in or make a phone call.

Here are two options for you to consider when it comes to Lead Capture:

1. Setupan Email Auto-Responder and create a web form that you place on your home page or dedicated squeeze page. The web form looks like a box and has a place for the searcher to enter his or her email and other information that you require. The squeeze page is one of the best ways to attract and capture targeted searchers but you’ll want to Build Pages Fast and be able to capture leads as soon as possible.

2. Create a Click to Call button and place it on several areas of your website so searchers will know that you offer this option. Click to call is a great option, especially if your business is locally oriented or you offer consulting or services. The phone and connecting with a lead when he or she is in the research or buying mode can make the difference of whether you make a sale or gain a new subscriber.

Either way you need to make the web form or click to call visible and attractive so the visitor who make their way to your site can take action. Now you can also send the searcher to articles or a social media site or a chat session. But if you are looking to develop new business and capture leads consistently, then email and phone are two of the best ways to go.

Remember – it’s about capturing leads and then converting them. Always keep this in mind as you setup and develop your own lead capture system and contact The SmallBiz Mechanic if you get stuck along the way.

For any marketer who is building a list of subscribers or for the offline enterprise that is looking to attract new online leads and communicate with existing customers, email software is a critical component to the equation.

Back in early 2010 I initially tested one other email auto-responder service and it was way to complicated even for my brother-in-law the computer expert, although I believe he could have dug in and figured it out.

I have also had experience with a few clients using one of the most popular email software programs which in itself is a pretty good program but doesn’t have all the bells and whistles.

So when it comes to the best email software I’m a little biased towards one company as I like simplicity, customer service and quick reference tutorials. In my expereince the best email software for the newbie and small business has been Aweber.

Aweber is a pretty robust, solid platform that has lots of features and is pretty simple to navigate. This along with their knowledge base and excellent customer service has made me a fan.

There’s also email software by Get Response. In my opinion their platform is a little more complex but still delivers and many top marketers continue to use their services.

There are other email software programs like Constant Contact, Mailchimp, Infusionsoft and iContact. Each one has it’s own features and benefits, but when it comes down to a robust auto-responder and lead capture solution, I believe Aweber takes the cake.

From list management and settings to web form creation and installation – once you learn the software it’s pretty easy to manage and update.

Like any new software, it takes time to learn the ins and outs. Email software is no different. But know this – if I can do it and learn how to use this software, so can you.

The best email software for small business is software that works and gets the job done with the least amount of headaches and stress.

So when it comes to email marketing campaigns and the ability to execute and manage these you need a simple solution and for small business I believe Aweber is a solid fit.

I’ll never forget the day when a colleague mentioned to me that Google was going local. I had been struggling for more than five years to geo target in our region but continued to get people from Australia, The Netherlands, California and even Antarctica coming our way.

Our presence on the search engines at the time was rock solid but boy to get more local exposure was like pulling teeth without a dentist.

I mean The Tiny Store had Microsoftees, Boeingites and the local teckie crowd crossing our doorstep and this continued to grow, but I still continued to search for ways to bring more local searchers our direction.

We did just about everything you could think of offline and online to attract new business, and this was why we were so successful during that time of economic ups and downs.

We stayed consistent. We experimented. We succeeded and we failed. But in the long run, it all worked out and our list of clients grew year after year.

This leads me to you and your business – local Internet marketing and your list.

You as a local merchant or service provider can maximize your ROI by focusing on developing and cultivating your own list of subscribers and clients.

Local Internet Marketing can bring exposure and make you visible to more people in your region versus those that are in areas you don’t service or care to sell to. So all that energy and time that you put into local Internet marketing can bring a solid return, if you develop a list of subscribers and clients.

List building is where the ROI is. Your list doesn’t have to be huge in order to see ROI. It could be relatively small but your conversion could be really high depending on how you position your offers. The great thing about building a list of local subscribers and clients is that you can utilize both email and direct mail to better connect, grow and test your way to success.

So all that money you put into local internet marketing through pay per click, directories, search engine optimization and Google + Local will pay off if you capture new leads and bring them into your world.

How do you do this?

Simple – place a lead capture(opt in) form on each and every page of your web site and use an email auto responder to do the heavy lifting.

Next – setup a separate URL and use this for tracking any leads developed through direct response marketing.

Lastly – develop a simple email campaign with a mix of messages that deliver great content along with the occasional sales letter, page or video.

Ok, so if you missed part one(List Building and The Sales Monster) you probably want to check it out first so this post makes more sense. The jist of where I’m going with part two about List Building and The Sales Monster is connecting with your subscribers without losing them along the way.

Because if you are going to build a list of subscribers(online or offline), at some point you’ll need to convert them into customers. And by doing so the conversion plus ROI should equal one happy business owner.

You see just building a list by itself is not going to make you any money. I know, I’m beating a dead horse here but a long list of peeps with no conversion is not gonna help your small business.

So we have to sell and offer our subscribers and clients(if you have any) at intervals and these intervals will depend on your type of business and how many products and services you have to sell.

Maybe the interval is once a week or maybe it’s two times per month?

Maybe you have so many products to offer that it’s twice a week or more?

No matter – just work to achieve a balance between selling and great content.

Because if you don’t, the sales monster might rear his ugly head when you let him loose on your subscribers and clients without properly understanding how to create and manage a sales funnel.

In other words – you throw too many offers on the table all at once or every day and your list gets burned out like water thrown on a fire pit.

Now let’s take a turn and talk briefly about the triggers…

If you want to really connect with ‘the people’ on your list and desire to have them purchase whatever it is you have to offer them…

Then consider implementing the Seven Triggers.

Author Russell Granger refers to Seven Triggers in his book on influencing people’s decisions. These triggers can surely make a difference for you in your business if you study and implement them correctly.

Let’s say you test just one of the triggers in your marketing and it happens to be the Authority Trigger. This trigger is one where you are the expert or maybe someone you work with is the expert and you build on credibility.

This credibility will open up doors to opportunities that otherwise would not be available to you and might increase sales if used legitimately. Of all the triggers this is one that you as a professional or seasoned business owner can use to develop, grow new business and conquer the sales monster.

Remember – if you really connect with subscribers, then they are more likely to purchase and become clients (or customers if you prefer) and clients are more likely to continue working with you over the long-haul.

How does one develop a list of subscribers online and make it a business? In this post I will share with you three simple steps that will hopefully get you pointed in the right direction.

First we need to ask a few questions…

Why build a list? Why develop an email list of subscribers and clients when you can do other kinds of businesses online?

When it comes to online opportunities, there is certainly no shortage.

Here’s a partial list of ways you could make an income online:

Sell physical products through ecommerce.

Sell digital informational products.

Offer content and then make a commission on the ads displayed on your site.

Make a commission on products through Amazon.com or other ecommerce sites.

Make a commission on the actions that people take (CPA marketing).

And the list goes on and on…

This leads us back to developing a list online.

Every business has its quirks, positives and negatives. List building is no different. It just takes consistent work on the list builder’s part as do other online businesses.

The thing that separates building a list from other ventures is that the list can become an asset of sorts, if you monetize it. And the way you monetize it is by treating people right and having products or services that they are in need of.

That’s right, you need to treat the people on your list like you want to be treated. The better you treat them and the better you communicate, the more likely they are to buy from you. This is what I call building relationships.

Now one of the things about list building is that you have to continually add new subscribers and then convert a percentage of those subscribers to buyers through the products or services you offer to them.

Here’s the Simple 3-Step Explanation about How to Develop a List Online:

1. Drive Targeted Traffic (searchers) to a Squeeze or Landing Page that has a form for the searcher to subscribe to your list. This page should be focused on capturing the searcher and bringing them into your world. Not telling your entire story and giving away tons of information.

2. Offer Quality Content, Products and/or Services that are produced by you or someone else. Once the searcher has been converted to a subscriber, these products or services should be setup in a sequenced sales funnel along with quality content that keeps the subscriber’s attention.

3. Convert a percentage of your Subscribers into Buyers and you have sales and revenue coming your way. Conversion is the key and you will hear all kinds of formulas and ideas on the best ways to do this. What’s important is that you have a system for converting your subscribers to buyers. Not someone else’s system – but your own. Your conversion rate is your conversion rate and this might be higher or lower than what you see other marketers are saying should be ideal or sufficient.

Simple, right? But know that there are other things that need to be done or what I refer to as the details in between the lines.

Affiliate marketing seems to have picked up steam over the last couple of years and there seems to be more and more products with affiliate options. This is really great for the list builder who doesn’t have a product or service to market yet, because the affiliate products can be used in the sales funnel in lieu of self-produced products.

Affiliate marketing and list building work real well together, if the list builder has relevant products in his or her funnel.

For example – If you offer organic gardening information – the products and services you recommend should be related to this topic. And my suggestion to you is to test as many of these products or services as you can before you heavily promote them.

Now I want to make sure you understand the two sides of the affiliate coin. One side of this coin is where you as a product or service owner find affiliates to market your product or service and when they make a sale you compensate them.

The other side of this coin is where you as the affiliate, market products or services to your email list, on your websites or on other people’s sites. When a sale is made then you make a percentage of the transaction. This is what I am referring to when I mention putting affiliate products in the sales funnel.

When marketing affiliate products and services – make sure you do your homework and research.

You can do what ever you want, it’s your business and as a business owner, it’s your decision as to what products and services you buy and recommend. It’s just that you will be more believable when you recommend a product that you actually use.

I personally find it much easier to recommend products and services that I have tested and used. Over time I have developed a list of affiliate oriented products and services that work for me in my business and recommending them is a pleasure because I know they work and have had success with them.

If you want to know what that list is then check out Dave Recommend’s and see for yourself.

So my recommendation is to be up front and honest about the products and services you promote because long-term is not just about the short sale.

This article is really directed towards the business that is struggling with ways to capture leads on their website.

Maybe you already have a customer list but haven’t been able to figure out how to further monetize it using email and web-based applications?

Maybe you have yet to develop an online customer list but cannot seem to figure out how to put all the pieces together?

I think many small businesses find themselves at a crossroads where the offline marketing is coming up against the online marketing and they need to figure out how to make the two mesh.

Over the years I’ve seen businesses cheap out on their email lists but invest tens of thousands of dollars on their physical mailing lists because they didn’t have a clue about marketing online.

Oh they might have a Facebook page and Twitter account, so they think they are up on the current online trends, but in reality they haven’t a clue.

Here they have their existing customer both in an offline and online database yet don’t know what to send him or her except sales and promotional mailers and emails.

They miss the boat, week after week, month after month and year after year.

And continue to scratch their heads as to why they can’t seem to figure out how the Internet really works.

If this is you and you are ready to make the change and capitalize on the fact that you have people who are visiting your sites regularly, then here’s what you need to do to increase email subscriptions:

Put a subscribe link (opt in box or form) on every page of your site. This way you are giving the visitor an opportunity to join your list.

Add a free gift (information, trial offer, service, etc…) to entice the visitor to subscribe. People are inundated with offers so make it special.

Put the subscribe form on your blog and post a link on any social media sites that you currently use. This way your opt-in forms are getting maximum exposure and your subscribe rates should increase over time.

Write and send an offer to your existing subscribers that they can share with other people they know. To redeem the offer the new visitor will need to subscribe to your list.

Need more subscribers to opt-in to your email list – subscribe here – and find out how to do this.

Ok so I decided to step out with the whole ‘monster’ title. I was thinking about ‘Cookie’ but that’s been overused and since my post is about sales and list building and how they work together, I kept the ‘Monster’ intact.

This is actually part one of a two part series, so look for the second half down the road. It will be worth it.

Here we go…

Let’s get the facts straight:

#1 – List building is work. Albeit a different kind of work. If anyone tells you any different – turn and run.

#2 – List building is a business – unless you are a non-profit.

#3 – List building by itself will not make you any money until you have a product or service to sell the subscribers on the list. This product or service can be your own or someone else’s. And then…you must CONVERT the subscriber to a client in order to make a SALE, which should ultimately make you a profit.

Make ee sense?

I sure hope so.

To make list building profitable you need to sell and sell you must. But selling can be done in a way that is the opposite of the ‘hot tub and car sales way’…Yes it can be done and the monster doesn’t need to come out of the closet and jump all over your subscriber!

Sales is the what’s on the other side of the door and conversion is the key that unlocks the door. Yeh, I know – ‘Dave speak’ once again comes onto the page and interrupts the normally scheduled blog post. So just bare with me for a little longer and I’ll be wrapped up.

“A sale is a very fragile thing. And it needs to be treated as such…”

So why is it that so many people are afraid to sell?

For some reason people get online and just think they can make money hand over fist with little or no work put into the equation. It’s the preconceived notion that in the online world you can make a bundle by doing little to nothing and especially not selling.

The reality is that sales comes into the equation in just about every online business. Now there are a few exceptions like with sites that are monetized by AdSense or some other advertising platform that provides the website owner advertisers in exchange for a percentage of the click.

Sooooo…..

Learn what I refer to as ‘the art and science of persuasion’ and connecting with people. It makes selling a whole lot easier and much more fun.

The email auto responder is online software generally provided by a third party company. This software is what enables you, the small business owner, to capture, communicate and sell to the people on your email list plus have the ability to track and have access to data through detailed reports.

The email auto responder company that you as a business owner choose to use is an extremely important decision and should not be taken lightly. This company is going to be providing you with software and maintaining the database of subscribers that you accumulate. Without the auto responder it would be virtually impossible to develop and grow a list of subscribers online.

When I initially was looking for email software I tested two different products and ended up going with Aweber because of the simplicity and ease of use.

In my opinion their setup and interface was and still is one of the best on the market for email marketing, especially the beginner or those that are less technical when it comes to computers and software.

Auto-responder software provides many different features like the lead capture forms, an email interface, a database and reports for the user to review and analyze data for marketing purposes.

One of the best things about online email software is that if you happen to be involved in a traditional brick and mortar business, you can setup the email auto-responder and market to both prospects and clients with out a complex web site.

This is due in part to the simple web forms that the 3rd party software company provides. These forms can be posted anywhere and in some cases the company will also host the form for the business.

So for those people that want to keep it really simple, the lead capture web form can be used on social media sites like Facebook and on blog sites just like this one.

No matter which email software you choose for your business, make sure that the company has great support and provides you with an online resource for answering questions.